


Shattered Breath

by Miri1984



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Bad Decisions, F/M, First Kiss, battlefield kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-30 22:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10886082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miri1984/pseuds/Miri1984
Summary: Set just after Calamaty Ganon's attack.





	Shattered Breath

The princess’ moods were as inconstant as the weather. Prevailing over all for the past year had been her melancholy - making the swings to either side of that all the more startling. Her joy over the discovery of a rare plant would be crushed by the simple act of laying her eyes on the sword at his back. Sorrow as she gazed at the path to mount Lanayru would dissolve into happy laughter when Epona butted her in the face, desperate for treats and affection.

Still, for all her moods she was calm and controlled throughout - never pushing the extreme to hysteria or abject misery, always able to push the feelings down, take a deep breath, and refocus.

He admired her - her determination coming on the heels of failure after failure. Far more difficult to continue when there was no indication of progress, his own journey by comparison had been short and easy, if physically taxing.

But she had limits, and the attack had broken them.

She was small in his arms, but he could feel the strength in her as she shook with sobs. It seemed stupid to be worried about propriety - now of all times, but it took a moment for him to overcome a year of conditioning and offer the simple comfort of his own embrace, arms tightening around her as she pressed against him and buried her face in his chest, the moisture from her tears lost amidst blood and dust and rain that spattered them both.

She cried for a long time. He made meaningless soothing sounds, one hand stroking the golden tangle of her hair while the other cradled her gently. He almost didn’t notice when she finally stilled, save that after a moment she looked up.

His hand was close to her cheek - it felt natural to slide it gently down to cup her jaw, to use his thumb to brush away the last tear that fell. She breathed in sharply, biting her lip, then went very, very still.

The world suddenly felt fragile, as though a single breath of wind could shatter it. 

He opened his mouth to say something, her name, a platitude, something to try to mend what was left of her heart, but her fingers found his cheek, moving down to rest on his lips, stalling the words that might have come. She was watching his mouth, now, eyes red rimmed but free of tears, and her mouth was open, the puff of her breath so close to his face that he felt its warmth. 

It was such a short distance, from her lips to his, that he almost didn’t notice once it was crossed.

He should not be doing this. There was smoke and mud and blood in the air, her family was dead and his comrades were trapped, their support stripped away, their mission all but impossible to complete. He was assigned to protect her, to shield her while she discovered her power. They had a _duty._

He should not be doing this... but _dear Goddess,_ her lips were soft and she melted against him with a sigh, her hand moving to the back of his head, tangling in his hair and gripping tight. They were awkward, the angle was bad and his teeth knocked against hers but the thought of stopping didn’t even cross the furthest reaches of his mind, instead he shifted her so she was settled more firmly in his lap and pulled her closer, kissing her lips, her cheeks, running his fingers up her back and…

Her sharp intake of breath was the first warning he had -- enough to hear the clink and gears of a guardian, and she sprang back as he twisted and drew his sword in one moment, fumbling on the ground for his shield as the whine of the guardian’s laser started in earnest.

This was stupid, he’d been stupid, they’d been stupid, kids in the middle of a battlefield thinking with everything other than their brains. He was going to get them killed. He was going to get _her_ killed -- he was going to fail the way everyone else had failed and…

He grunted as the laser blast hit his shield and reflected back onto the guardian, sheering off one of its limbs and leaving it off balance enough for him to leap up onto it, raising his sword to bury into the red gleaming eye. He heard her scream, half turned towards her and missed another limb flail into his chest, slamming him hard away from the guardian into a nearby tree, his sword flying in the opposite direction. Pain seared through his back, something felt like it was dislodged in his chest, but he rallied as the guardian scuttered towards him, his bow slipping into his hand, one of his final arrows nocked and ready as it approached. 

His arm shook as he took careful aim, more pain shooting down to his middle and making it difficult to keep the string drawn. The guardian was nearly on him… she was crying out, his fingers were wet on the string and when he loosed it he nearly deflated then and there...

The guardian squealed as the arrow pierced its eye and it shuddered to a halt, tipping over on its side. He gasped for a breath that sent pain shooting through his lungs, reaching out to lean on the tree behind him, eyes darting behind the fallen guardian, searching for her. He’d lost sight when he’d been knocked off the guardian, he didn’t know if there were more of them, if she was safe... 

_Where was she?_

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun, almost crying out at the pain that caused in his ribs. She offered him the sword, eyes wide, and he nodded, hiding a wince as he moved to the guardian, checking for any signs of life. He found none, but sliced through its middle all the same -- better to be safe. In the distance he could hear more of them. How many had he already killed? He couldn’t remember. Couldn’t count them. There had been so many -- an unstoppable army, a linchpin of their plan, and now they were scouring the battlefield, searching for survivors.

For _her._

He could still taste her lips.

He looked back to where she stood, hands loose at her sides. _It’s all my fault._

“Link…” she said softly, taking a step forward. “What… we just…” He shook his head, holding up a hand, fighting for breath against the pain in his chest, wondering if was just the blow from the guardian that had caused it, or something more.

A branch crashed, there was another clink of gears, and whatever she might have said was lost. 

There just wasn’t time.


End file.
